WTF do they think an election campaign is FOR? Promises, cash handouts, pork, policy announcements, “show me the money!”, cash, promises,etc. Where have FotABC been hiding out during the last twenty Federal election campaigns? A cave, without even an ABC wireless to listen in to??? The contending parties make promises. Some they keep, if elected. Some they discard. Lobby groups try to get parties to agree to their suggestions.

As a footnote, ABC TV news reported tonight that ABC management had asked BOTH Coalition and Labor to agree to the Kids TV channel idea. So in the eyes of FotABC, was management requesting to be raped?

Much of the talk around Rudd’s strategy has been along the lines that he had to adopt the me-too/conservative approach in order to win government. Which given how long Labor’s been out of office is the primary goal.

So have the polls not changed much since Rudd took control because of this ‘clever’ strategy or has the general tiredness/’time for change’/workchoices backlash against the Howard meant that it didn’t really matter all that much what Rudd as long as he didn’t do anything crazy (like Latham…)?

if its the later – do we think Rudd had/has the room to move such that he could have articulated some more interesting-forward looking policies?

Michael,
He probably doesn’t want to risk anything. The frighhtening thought is that what we see is what we’ll get. But anything is better than JWH. Well, almost anything,
Due to DLS I couldn’t catch any broadcasts of the Lib policy launch. Probably a good thing. It would have spoilt my lunch. No dobt the spidery little man will be leaping all over our TVs tonight.

This is a stunning campaign launch. Voters must surely rethink their positions now that they have learnt that the coalition is pro-family and pro-housing. Also props to Mark Vaile for calling the Education Revolution communist, that didn’t look silly at all.

Mr Costello opened with an address attacking the way Labor is portraying its attitude to economic management.

Consider this moment in history, ladies and gentlemen.

This is probably the last time that Mr Costello will be able to command the national spotlight.

After the looming electoral annihilation of Howard’s Liberal Party, those
liberals who remain in Parliament will seek to restore the shattered fortunes of the party.

It is certain that Mr Costello will be bypassed as a person too tainted with the odium of the Howard ascendency.

This is an ironic state of affairs, ofr it is well known that Mr Costello is deeply offended almost on a visceral level by everything associated with Mr Howard. Yet Mr Costello finds himself in this humilating predicament because he had insufficient courage to challenge Mr Howard even when he know that his political career was being expunged.

In some ways I hope Mr Howard wins Bennelong so that we shall have the spectacle of Mssrs Howard and Costello raking over the ashes of their careers high up in the Opposition back benches.

But time heels many wounds. Who knows? Janette may even invite the Costellos over for a TV dinner.

Connect all the points of the AEC dog to all other major entities that are nameable and in focus,and win a prize. Use a HB pencil and see if you can tell where the dog was in a frame or two back!? If you can then who is the donkey in the picture!? First prize either approved…. Electoral Commission water or dogs piss!?

Mediawatch tonight examined Catherine Overington’s desperate attempt to persuade “independent” Danielle Ecuyer (it happens she is the ex-lover of George Newhouse) to give her preferences to Turnbull. Lateline followed up, with a report that the Electoral Commission is getting involved. Ecuyer’s preferences will probably determine the outcome in Wentworth.

This is getting strange. Ecuyer was the candidate referred in the “election rival gay” article from a couple of days ago. I wonder if the two stories are related?

Craig Ruecassel from The Chaser was held in detention for the duration of the Liberal Party launch in Brisvegas,yesterday. Did the feds slip through anti-comedy laws while we weren’t watching or are there, Joh anti-civil rights harrassment laws, still on the books ?

It could be a state law. Beattie introduced some nutty preventative detention laws directed at “nuisances” a few years ago because he was sick of that guy who kept making a nuisance of himself at public events. Unfortunately, this is the sort of nonsense you get when you have “strong leadership”, a huge parliamentary majority and no upper house or real tradition of respect for civil liberties. Not one of our proudest moments.

I wuz wonderin’ today … inflation seems to be a real threat over the coming years, and Gummint spending and handouts are gunna make that worse. JHo is spending like a drunken sailor and offering huge tax cuts, and KRudd is me-too-ing.

But maybe JHo knows he’s toast, and he’s laying the groundwork for a 2010 Liberal victory? By upping the spending ante to tempt the Ruddster to match, so that there’s a big spike in inflation and interest rates over the next three years, hoping the punters will blame this on Kevvie and return back to the fold?

The Rural Rorts programme has come back to haunt Howard big time. In the Friday morning stoush on Ch. 9 Today programme between Abbott and Gillard, Gillard named it for what it was – Corruprion. Hopefully Rudd will run just as hard on this over the next few days. Though he may not for fear of offending rural marginals he wants to win.
Which brings me to a very peculiar occurence during the 2004 campaign, which, not being in the know, I couldn’t make any sense of. On a 4 Corners programme in the closing stages of the election, Sally Neighbour asked Howard about corruption in his Government. Howard looked at her very sternly, and said “Corruption? What do you mean?” (sounding nonplussed). Turns out this was classic Howard dissembling. Gillard revealed all on the Today Show this morning. Ten minutes, yes, ten minutes before the writs for the 2004 election were issued Vaile was busing porkbarrelling millions into National Party marginal seats. Now with the Commonwealth Auditors Report out, all is revealed and the corruption of the Howard Government is out there for all to see.
If Labor doesn’t make ca ong-running meal out of this until the election, they need their heads read. Corrupt! I can’t think of a better way for Howard to go out.